recovering from chinch bugs

mister – posted 29 July 2004 15:07

Greetings:

I laid sod down May 30th, did great for a while and then it suddenly started dying. I finally realized it was chinch bugs about a week ago(actually brought them up from the soil), and then realized two days ago triazacide wouldn’t cut it. I brought out the big dogs (Talstar EZ), and it looks like it destroyed the chinch bugs(as far as i can tell). My question is where do I go from here? The lawn is in very poor condition, but none of the really unhealthy spots are bigger than maybe 3 feet. Should I just give the turf some time before I do anything(like plugs, or new pieces of sod), or should I immediatly start doing something like perhaps put down topsoil in some of the ugly spots(or maybe sand?) Any suggestions would be helpful. I guess I should also say I live in Tampa, FL (95 degrees everyday) so fertilizing is definetly out of the question.

Thanks

Alex_in_FL – posted 05 August 2004 17:46

Chinchbugs! ARRGGHHH. Since nobody else has commented, here are my suggestions:

1. Water deeply unless you are getting plenty of rain (we are getting plenty here in central florida!)2. Rake up the dead grass. St. Aug hates to grow across dead St. Aug grass. It will grow across concrete before growing across dead St Aug.3. Go ahead and put out granular fertilizer (slow release – maybe a Lesco brand as they are usually slow releases)4. Buy a plugger and a 20 lb sack of sand. Make your own plugs and put on 6 inch centers (after raking). Fill the holes with sand if needed. 4.A. Alternatively buy a few plugs and put on 8-12 inch centers.5. Be patient.

Good luck!

Alex